Harry Morgan

Harry Morgan, who played Colonel Sherman T. Potter on 'M*A*S*H,' died on Wednesday at the age of 96. 'Early' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS) remembered the actor with a look back at his career, which included another iconic TV role, detective Bill Gannon on 'Dragnet.'

"To be able to be on a hit show, 'Dragnet' and to come back and be on another hit show is something that not very many actors get to do in their careers," Matt Belloni of the 'Hollywood Reporter' observed in a discussion.

Harry Morgan, best known for playing Colonel Sherman T. Potter on the long-standing army dramedy 'M*A*S*H,' died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, according to TheWrap. He was 96.

Morgan played Col. Potter for eight years, until 'M*A*S*H's' final episode on Feb. 28, 1983. The series finale was the most watched television episode in US television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers.
A decorated TV actor, Morgan also appeared in other iconic roles, like Detective Bill Gannon on 'Dragnet.'

"Harry had a thousand stories. That of course comes from appearing in over 100 movies, and probably 10,000 television programs," M*A*S*H executive producer Ken Levine wrote, paying tribute to Morgan on his blog on Wednesday. "Harry was very much like Colonel Potter. He raised horses, and in fact, in the final episode when he says goodbye to Sophie, that really was one of Harry's horses. The picture on Potter's desk was of Harry's real wife, Eileen. And the only difference in personalities between Harry and Sherman is that Harry held his liquor better."

(S0402) - "You've got a family to support and people to dismember. You're spinning too many plates, Dexter." - Harry Morgan

One of the most interesting reasons to watch shows like Dexter are the ways the characters manage to wiggle their way out of complete destruction after pushing more than their fair share of luck.

But unlike shows like The Shield or The Sopranos where most of the luck pushing is done by the main character, the people behind Dexter like to spread the carelessness around. Just about everyone in this twisted tale has some skeletons in their closets, both figurative and possibly literal.

The introduction of a baby into the plot is usually a sure fire sign that a television show has jumped the shark with a pair of Acme rocket powered water skis.

But things are different for a twisted little space of pay cable called Dexter. The mere thought of putting a cute, adorable and affable little tyke into the mix sounds like something that would inspire the furious typing of a thousand angry Parents Television Council members' Selectric typewriters.

The latest addition to the Morgan clan is just a small addition to the newest season of Showtime's seriously macabre drama. It doesn't overtake the show and turn its serious moral tone into something ridculously psychotic like Three Madmen and a Baby. It's just one of many obstacles the world's most huggable serial killer has to deal with to feed the John Pinette sized appetite of his mysterious "dark passenger," and it's not all dark and drenched in blood.

In light of the fact that letter writing and postal service are dramatically in decline, my guess is that there will be an older crowd nodding appreciatively when Dragnet is honored. You see, the younger generation (did I really say that?) doesn't have much use for stamps and won't be buying the Dragnet first class stamp.

AOL has an interesting slide show over at their TV section, about the cast of M*A*S*H and what they're up to now.

Of course, we know what happened to a few of them. McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville both passed away, and Alan Alda almost became President of the United States. But I wasn't aware that Wayne Rogers wasn't acting much anymore and had made a ton of money in the business world and was on the board of directors of a Fortune 500 company and appears on a FOX business show, Cashin' In.

"I am looking (for) the name (of) a series on very early Nickelodeon? 83 or 84. It featured a young group of kids who would solve mysteries and other such problems and they wore teleportation belts. It was science fictiony and reminded me of BBC programs, but I can't remember the name of the show. Please help!"

Well, Paul, as most of the readers know, the show you're referring to was, indeed a BBC show called The Tomorrow People. It aired on BBC in the '70s but Nickelodeon ran episodes in the 80's for American viewers. The show was remade in the '90s and ran for a few seasons but failed to catch on like the original.

(S01E12) What an absolutely spectacular show. It's going to be a shame if Michael C. Hall doesn't get the Golden Globe because he certainly deserves it. It's funny because at the beginning of the season I said I was going to have a hard time picturing him as anything other than part of the Six Feet Under ensemble. Now that season one of Dexter has come and gone, I can't imagine how Hall ever played the role of David Fisher for five seasons because this is the show I associate him with. He owns this role.